AZTECS’ CEDEROTH ENJOYS PRESSURE OF ‘THE BIG SITUATION’

San Diego State right-hander Michael Cederoth has had his pitches to the plate clocked at up to 101 mph.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore from Steele Canyon High doesn’t need a speed reading to know that sometimes the ball comes back at you even faster.

Cederoth was on the mound for the Aztecs last season in a game at Texas A&M when Aggies second baseman Scott Arthur lined a fastball right back at him. There was no time to duck.

“When it hit me, I didn’t know what happened because my adrenaline was pumping,” said Cederoth. “I didn’t feel it until about an hour later when it felt like somebody had slapped me across the face.”

Cederoth didn’t know until later that he had a hairline fracture on the right side of his jaw.

He didn’t know he would need nine stitches to close his wounds.

He didn’t know he would have his jaw wired shut for seven weeks and lose 25 pounds while taking breakfast, lunch and dinner through a straw.

He did know this much: “I was coming out of the game.”

Cederoth, who starts tonight at USD in the Aztecs’ season opener, said that’s what bothered him the most.

“I really can’t stand getting pulled from a game,” he said. “Especially when it has nothing to do with my arm and how I’m pitching.”

The incident happened with one out in the fifth inning. Cederoth had allowed one unearned run on three hits to that point. He was shutting down the No. 7-ranked team in the nation, in front of more than 4,000 fans, and loving every minute of it.

“I like pitching with pressure,” said Cederoth. “ I enjoy the moment. I want the ball in the big situation. I love that feeling. It’s like, all eyes on me. I guess that’s an ego thing, but I enjoy every second of it. My best games are in front of bigger crowds.”

There was no way Cederoth was going to sit still for seven weeks while he healed. Try two weeks.

One of the conditions for Cederoth’s return was that wire cutters be available in the dugout in case anything happened while he was pitching and his mouth had to be cut open.

Cederoth returned for the Mountain West Tournament, pitching the last four innings without allowing an earned run to earn a victory over UNLV.

“For him to do what he did in the conference tournament with a broken jaw is phenomenal,” said SDSU pitching coach Eric Valenzuela. “I’m not surprised. He’s a tough competitor and that’s who he is.

“From a coach’s perspective, he has such a bright future that you don’t want to put somebody in harm’s way. But he’s a different kind of kid and he really wanted it. You want to do what’s best for the kid, but when he tells you that he’s good and he wants to do it and believes, sometimes you want to give them some leeway.”